Trust in God

I lack confidence in myself when faced with challenges. I don’t speak up because I’m afraid that the words I speak won’t make sense. I would rather go last because I don’t want to mess up and look like a fool. The problem in thinking this way is that…

I don’t trust God.

I don’t trust Him to come through for me. I don’t trust that He will equip me with the words to speak or the actions to take. I worry and stress over my finances. How can I pay the bills and feed my family too?

We are confident of all of this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

2 Corinthians 3:4-5

I need to change the way I think. I don’t need to question if I’m qualified because God is the one who qualifies me. I don’t need to become anxious over what words to speak, because God will equip me with those words. I don’t need to worry about my finances because God is my Provider

I have spent too much time trying to do all of these things on my own. Trying to fight the many challenges I am faced with each day. I keep failing. My trust shouldn’t be with myself. I should trust in God. Only with Him are all things possible.

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.

Matthew 19:26

Living by grace,

Misty

Forgiving Those Who Have Wronged You

Forgiveness…it can be difficult. I struggle with forgiving others and even myself.

Over the past few years I have grown bitter with a specific individual. The lies, manipulation, isolation, and hostility from this person has me consumed with anger and an unwillingness to extend forgiveness. I feel the need to prove to others the truth and the real and complete story. The reality is that people will believe what they want to believe, even if that means not hearing the other side.

I’m so tired from this bitterness that has rooted itself into my heart, and forgiving this individual is the only way to eliminate this stronghold. Proverbs 19:11 says,

Sensible people control their tempers, they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

I now need to be the bigger person. Being angry doesn’t make me feel any better, and choosing to overlook the wrongs doesn’t mean what they did is ok. Instead, it helps me to heal and move on.

If you forgive those who sin against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive you.

Matthew 6:14

Our Heavenly Father shows great mercy in forgiving our sins. In order to be more like Christ, I must show the same mercy and forgive.

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

1 John 1:9

It is time for me to also fully embrace the forgiveness God has given me. I will let go of the guilt and shame and refuse to live under the labels spoken over me. I have confessed my sins and he has trampled them under his feet and thrown them out. (Micah 7:19)

My healing starts today. I am choosing to forgive this person and all their wrong doings. I will forgive over and over. I will extend the mercy and grace that my Father has given me. I also vow to forgive myself. To throw out the bitterness and live out the life God has in store for me.

Living By Grace

Misty

Making Disciples In Today’s World

Talking about Jesus to others face to face isn’t easy for me. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. Others may not be receptive and shut me down immediately and 2. I will make a fool out of myself and stumble over my words.

It seems that we are living in a world where talking about Jesus makes people uncomfortable, annoyed, or angry. My job involves being around teenagers. I am surprised by the number of teenagers that don’t know Jesus or identify as Atheist. I have been asked several time if I am a Christian and they then open up and tell me their beliefs. In my line of work, I am not allowed to talk about Jesus. It saddens me because in this stage of life, teens need Jesus!

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

Proverbs 22:6

We can’t assume that parents are sharing Jesus with their children, in my opinion, most aren’t. So that leaves us Christian’s to share the Good News and help make disciples in this world.

How do we do this? We start with our own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, neighbors, etc. We live our own lives according to God’s will so others can see His light within us. We see in John that this is how Jesus gained his disciples: John 1:43, 45-46

  • “Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’
  • “The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Come, follow me.’ “
  • “Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus.’ “

It’s a game of telephone, except at the end, more people know and maybe even decide to follow Christ. Don’t be afraid to share who He is and what He has done in your own life. Be the change in today’s youth, and help direct them in the way they should go.

Living By Grace,

Misty